Anyone who was anyone in the ancient mythological world

[Honey]

"...  Anyone who was anyone in the ancient mythological world had to do a tour of duty in the Underworld.  Inanna is the Sumerian queen of heaven who tricked her father into giving her the Tablets of Destiny, which contained the arts of astrology & other systems of divine navigation.  Out of compassion, she gave them to humanity.  ("Take 2 tablets, & call me after the millennium.")

Some versions of her story say that, compelled by her own intrepid curiosity, she decided to descend from the sky to the Underworld.  Other versions say that she was tricked by an invitation from Eriskegal, Queen of the Underworld.  Either way, before leaving she tells her friends that if she does not return within 60 days, they should 1st mourn her, then come rescue her.

As Inanna descends, at each of the 7 gates of the Underworld she is stripped of 1 of her attributes:  her crown, her jewelry, her robes, her pride, her self-esteem – everything but her sense of humor.  Finally she stands naked before Eriskegal, who fixes her with a stone-cold stare.  Under this frigid gaze, all life leaves Inanna's body & she is hung as a corpse in the land of the dead.

60 days pass.  In the above-world, all of creation goes into mourning except for Inanna's consort, Dumozi, the god of vegetation, who really whoops it up.  Her concerned friends & father descend & negotiate a hostage release with Ersikegal.  They finally broker a deal in which Inanna can return to the upper world as long as she sends down a replacement.  Inanna says, "Hhhhmmm . . . I wonder who that will be?  How about my charming husband who didn't shed a tear for me?"

Dumuzi the vegetative god had become a vegetable, a party vegetable, a veritable couch potato in need of an initiatory descent.  So he is sent down as her replacement.  In turn, Inanna negotiates his release for half the year, during which time the desert blooms.

In a similar tale from Greek mythology, Persephone descends to the Plutonian Underworld a young girl bust ascends a queen & a woman.   ... "

- Making the Gods Work For You, The Astrological Language of the Psyche by Caroline W. Casey

Just curious if anyone has ever heard of Eriskegal?

[Xooxe]

Yes, but mythology from Mesopotamia confuses the crap out of me. It's all completely batshit, and each deity seems to have several names and varying relationships to one another, but I guess that's what you get from a handful of cultures sharing the same basic religious template for hundreds of years.

I wouldn't single out Eriskegal as being interesting, since all of them were pretty insane. Inanna (Ishtar) threatened to raise the dead and have them walk the Earth as leverage against one of her father's wishes (or something). That = cool as fuck.

[Honey]

Yes!  What you say is all very true!  I had never even heard of Eris before coming here & I just thought it was interesting, I guess, how the names seemed similar.  This is another story from the same book.  It's pretty long tho, so some might not want to read.

The Story of Dame Ragnall, An Arthurian legend

One day while hunting in a thicket, King Arthur wounds a deer.  In order to follow it into more dense brush, he takes off his sword.  When he comes to a clearing, who should be waiting there for him but an old enemy who threatens to kill him.  Appealing to his opponent's chivalry, Arthur points out that he is unarmed & that any attack would be tremendously unfair.  His enemy proposes to give Arthur a question that Arthur must answer in one year's time or forfeit his life.  Arthur had no choice but to accept.  His enemy responds with a smirk, "What is it that a woman most desires in all the world?"

Dismayed & daunted at the seeming impossibility of the task, Arthur scours the land for the next year, asking everyone he meets, "What do women want, what do women want?"  But no one knows.  The answers he receives, though often madcap, outrageous, or whimsical, are clearly insufficient.

Arthur is in deep despair as the fateful day draws closer, when the most hideous hag he has ever seen rides into court.  Her name is Dame Ragnall.  She is described as having huge yellow tusks & smelling like the sea at low tide.  She rides up to Arthur & says, "I know what the question is, & I have the answer."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Dame Ragnall, how very kind of you," Arthur says.

"Not so fast, King.  If I give you the correct answer that spares your life, then I will marry your nephew, Sir Gawain, the handsomest man in court."

"Oh no," Arthur sputters.  "I couldn't possibly agree to those terms."  But Gawain says, "Of course.  Of course I would do this to save your life, Uncle.  & who knows - perhaps we can find the answer from another source before the time is up."  So the agreement is struck.

The big day arrives.    Arthur tries all of his other answers.  "Nay, nay, Sir King, thou art but a dead man," says the King's shadow opponent, sharpening his blade.  Finally, Arthur uses the answer that Dame Ragnall has given him:  "Above all things, women desire sovereignty, for that is their liking & that is their most desire."  His grouchy yet civil enemy pauses & mutters, "& she that told thee now, Sir Arthur, I pray to God I may see her burn in a fire, for that was my Sister, Dame Ragnall.  Now have a good day."

Guinevere, of course, thinks a small wedding would be nice, but Dame Ragnall will hear none of it.  She wants a huge wedding & a banquet feast.  At the banquet, she devours entire boars & rips at them with her tusks & is generally foul & terrifying & funky.  Everyone present laments, "Oh, poor Gawain!"

Late that night the wedding couple retires to their chamber.  "Gawain, how about a little kiss?" Dame Ragnall says to the back of her husband.  Summoning all of his chivalry & kindness, he says, "Nay, I will do more than kiss."  As he turns to her, his eyes are greeted by the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

"Ah, Sir, Gawain, your chivalry & kindness have but half released me," cries Dame Ragnall.  "Here's what remains of the spell under which I am bound: I can be beautiful, as you see me, for only half the day – either alone with you at night or in the court by day.  Which would you prefer?  Gawain sputters, "Oh, my goodness, I – On the one hand – but on the other hand . . ." Finally he spits out, "I couldn't possibly decide for you.  You choose."

To which Dame Ragnall laughs, "Ah, you have entirely released me.  Now I shall be beautiful all the Time."  & they made Love for days, Joy out of Mind, without emerging from their bower.  The rest of the court was extremely puzzled.

From Making the Gods Work for You, The Astrological Language of the Psyche by Caroline W. Casey 

[Alethias]

"...  Anyone who was anyone in the ancient mythological world had to do a tour of duty in the Underworld.  Inanna is the Sumerian queen of heaven who tricked her father into giving her the Tablets of Destiny, which contained the arts of astrology & other systems of divine navigation.  Out of compassion, she gave them to humanity.  ("Take 2 tablets, & call me after the millennium.")

Some versions of her story say that, compelled by her own intrepid curiosity, she decided to descend from the sky to the Underworld.  Other versions say that she was tricked by an invitation from Eriskegal, Queen of the Underworld.  Either way, before leaving she tells her friends that if she does not return within 60 days, they should 1st mourn her, then come rescue her.

As Inanna descends, at each of the 7 gates of the Underworld she is stripped of 1 of her attributes:  her crown, her jewelry, her robes, her pride, her self-esteem – everything but her sense of humor.  Finally she stands naked before Eriskegal, who fixes her with a stone-cold stare.  Under this frigid gaze, all life leaves Inanna's body & she is hung as a corpse in the land of the dead.

60 days pass.  In the above-world, all of creation goes into mourning except for Inanna's consort, Dumozi, the god of vegetation, who really whoops it up.  Her concerned friends & father descend & negotiate a hostage release with Ersikegal.  They finally broker a deal in which Inanna can return to the upper world as long as she sends down a replacement.  Inanna says, "Hhhhmmm . . . I wonder who that will be?  How about my charming husband who didn't shed a tear for me?"

Dumuzi the vegetative god had become a vegetable, a party vegetable, a veritable couch potato in need of an initiatory descent.  So he is sent down as her replacement.  In turn, Inanna negotiates his release for half the year, during which time the desert blooms.

In a similar tale from Greek mythology, Persephone descends to the Plutonian Underworld a young girl bust ascends a queen & a woman.   ... "

- Making the Gods Work For You, The Astrological Language of the Psyche by Caroline W. Casey

Just curious if anyone has ever heard of Eriskegal?

Doesn't it have something to do with Eris doing kegel exercises?

[Honey]

holy shit!  I thought the same thing when I first read it but was    to say so     

[Manta Obscura]

"...  Anyone who was anyone in the ancient mythological world had to do a tour of duty in the Underworld.  Inanna is the Sumerian queen of heaven who tricked her father into giving her the Tablets of Destiny, which contained the arts of astrology & other systems of divine navigation.  Out of compassion, she gave them to humanity.  ("Take 2 tablets, & call me after the millennium.")

Some versions of her story say that, compelled by her own intrepid curiosity, she decided to descend from the sky to the Underworld.  Other versions say that she was tricked by an invitation from Eriskegal, Queen of the Underworld.  Either way, before leaving she tells her friends that if she does not return within 60 days, they should 1st mourn her, then come rescue her.

As Inanna descends, at each of the 7 gates of the Underworld she is stripped of 1 of her attributes:  her crown, her jewelry, her robes, her pride, her self-esteem – everything but her sense of humor.  Finally she stands naked before Eriskegal, who fixes her with a stone-cold stare.  Under this frigid gaze, all life leaves Inanna's body & she is hung as a corpse in the land of the dead.

60 days pass.  In the above-world, all of creation goes into mourning except for Inanna's consort, Dumozi, the god of vegetation, who really whoops it up.  Her concerned friends & father descend & negotiate a hostage release with Ersikegal.  They finally broker a deal in which Inanna can return to the upper world as long as she sends down a replacement.  Inanna says, "Hhhhmmm . . . I wonder who that will be?  How about my charming husband who didn't shed a tear for me?"

Dumuzi the vegetative god had become a vegetable, a party vegetable, a veritable couch potato in need of an initiatory descent.  So he is sent down as her replacement.  In turn, Inanna negotiates his release for half the year, during which time the desert blooms.

In a similar tale from Greek mythology, Persephone descends to the Plutonian Underworld a young girl bust ascends a queen & a woman.   ... "

- Making the Gods Work For You, The Astrological Language of the Psyche by Caroline W. Casey

Just curious if anyone has ever heard of Eriskegal?

I've never quite gotten the hang of Sumerian mythology, but all in all its not all that different from Greek, Norse, Babylonian, Egyptian, etc. Of more interest to you might be the primal Chaos entities in the various mythologies, like Tiamat (I forget what system he's from) and Tartarus (Greek). The Chaos monsters tend to be the most common references to Chaos in a lot of mythological systems; having a human-like Chaos goddess, Eris, isn't something I've run into as much outside of the Greeks.

There's a really cool essay by Campbell, I believe, which associates Chaos and Chaos deities with darkness and deep things, i.e. the Earth. I'll see if I can find an online link and post it here.

[LMNO]

Eris wasn't originally a Chaos goddess.

She's the goddess of Strife and Discord.

RAW, Hill, and Thornley co-opted her.

[Manta Obscura]

Eris wasn't originally a Chaos goddess.

She's the goddess of Strife and Discord.

RAW, Hill, and Thornley co-opted her.

Ah, my bad. I guess I should have been a bit more diligent about waving the Crap Detector over my exposition before posting it. Thanks for correcting me, LMNO

[BADGE OF HONOR]

She's also really high up in the Greek deity geneology (daughter of Night, I think?) which may indicate that she's been around for a while.  Or it might indicate that she's considered more of a fundamental part of human nature.  I have forgotten most of what I've read about Greek mythology, sadly. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm actually a big fan of the Discord aspect of Eris. And Strife.

[Cramulus]

I took an anthro class in college called "Death and Afterlife in Biblical Times" taught by someone who the entire class was convinced was either

• An Actual Vampire
• The Manifestation of Erishkigal

First thing she did when she came into class was close the blinds

Her summer job was writing anthro papers about egyptian / judaic burial practices. She spent her summers visiting graves and holes where Jesus might have been buried in

She dropped off her kid at the campus preschool, and came in every day before sunrise
ate lunch at her desk
and then went home after sunset

According to some mythology, vampires are sort of OCD. If you sprinkle salt on your doorstep, they must count every crystal before entering. The one time I sprinkled salt in the hall in front of the class, she was 10 minuites late

She showed no emotion at all except for the one class she taught on Erishkigal, which she described as a passionate and lovable woman, more in control than any other woman of her epoch. She spoke with a combonation of admiration
and pride

She's the authority, by the way, on burial practices circa 5000 BC. Rachel Hallote. I think that one day, that raven haired beauty discovered a pyramid where the True Remains of Eriskigal were buried
and was possessed
and consumed

I took a class where Erishkigal tought us about Mespotamian bural practices
how people would sacrifice before the body was committed to the underworld

one of the best classes I ever took

[Manta Obscura]

I took an anthro class in college called "Death and Afterlife in Biblical Times" taught by someone who the entire class was convinced was either

• An Actual Vampire
• The Manifestation of Erishkigal

First thing she did when she came into class was close the blinds

Her summer job was writing anthro papers about egyptian / judaic burial practices. She spent her summers visiting graves and holes where Jesus might have been buried in

She dropped off her kid at the campus preschool, and came in every day before sunrise
ate lunch at her desk
and then went home after sunset

According to some mythology, vampires are sort of OCD. If you sprinkle salt on your doorstep, they must count every crystal before entering. The one time I sprinkled salt in the hall in front of the class, she was 10 minuites late

She showed no emotion at all except for the one class she taught on Erishkigal, which she described as a passionate and lovable woman, more in control than any other woman of her epoch. She spoke with a combonation of admiration
and pride

She's the authority, by the way, on burial practices circa 5000 BC. Rachel Hallote. I think that one day, that raven haired beauty discovered a pyramid where the True Remains of Eriskigal were buried
and was possessed
and consumed

I took a class where Erishkigal tought us about Mespotamian bural practices
how people would sacrifice before the body was committed to the underworld

one of the best classes I ever took

Dear merciful heavens . . . I'm not sure if you're being serious or just having a jolly jest at our behalf. The idealist child in me hopes for the former, but the skeptic in me suspects the latter.

Although the child is gaining ground, because I had a similar experience: my high school Latin teacher was very pasty-skinned, always called off on days that were really nice and sunny, and spent the whole class period chewing his knuckles until they bled. My guess is that he was trying to kick the blood-sucking habit, and had to do it in little steps.

We should try to get our teachers set up on a date, and revel in the fact that we promoted some sweet, sweet ghoul lovin'.

[LMNO]

Manta, if you're really interested in source material about how the Greeks saw Eris, Cain can bump a thread that has every ancient text that mentions her.

[Manta Obscura]

That would be great, LMNO. As it stands, the only non-Discordian texts that I have that mention her are a few crusty old Iliad reference books, and a warped copy of "Arcana Mundi," where she's lumped along in the "Demons" chapter. Idiot editors.

It's sort of a bitch finding source materials on Eris and the pre-Olympian gods (or at least finding materials that don't just repeat the same three stories). Any references would be greatly appreciated.

[LMNO]

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=9811.0